Press die handling and removing means



y 2, 1967 D. DRAGANTI 3,316,334

PRESS DIE HANDLING AND REMOVING MEANS Filed June 1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j I), g70/06 IE-I57, f

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DANTE DRAGANTI ATTORNEYS May 2, 1967 D. DRAGANT! 3,316,334

PRESS DIE HANDLING AND REMOVING MEANS Filed June 1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I \IO 52 52 INVENTOR. 4o DANTE DRAGANTI BY t Saw/4 4 3% ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,316,834 PRESS DIE HANDLING AND REMOVING MEANS Dante Draganti, Busto-Arsizio, Italy, assignor to Officina Meccanica Erba & C. 8.2.8., Busto-Arsizio, Italy, a corporation of Italy Filed June 1, 1965, Ser. No. 460,259 Claims priority, application Italy, Nov. 21, 1964, 25,074/ 64 4 Claims. (Cl. 100-214) This invention relates to a device applicable to presses used in the papermaking industry, particularly punching presses to facilitate removal of the dies so as to perform checking operations or the partial or total replacement of said dies.

In manufacturing boxes and the like, presses are used, the stationary and movable plates of which have bolster means to hold dies or punches which make cuts or imprints in cardboard sheets. In these presses, the displacement of the movable plate is limited for evident reasons, whereby the inspection of the dies requires, removing the die from the press. These operations, however, due to the dimensions of the dies and the limited space available, are prolonged and complicated, and require suitable guides along which the dies are caused to slide. It results that the operation of the removal of the dies, even if facilitated, must be carefully performed so as to avoid incorrect movements, with resultant break-downs and failures. On the other hand, the provision of die guides in the press modifies and varies the resistant structure of the press and in practice, a press satisfying these requirements must necessarily sacrifice others. Generally, the die removal is performed by displacing the die along guides which extend perpendicularly to the axis of the insertion and removal of the sheet of paper being processed, that is lateral to the press. It results that the frame of the press must have side openings to enable the die to pass therethrough whereby the frame may have the required strength.

The device according to this invention besides satisfying the requirements relative to the removal of the die, even if quite large, allows maintaining the structure of a press practically unchanged and the die removal operations can be easily and satisfactorily carried out.

The device according to this invention which is applicable to one or both plates of a press and which comprises guides for rolling members carried by the die, is characterized in that said guides extend parallel to the direction of insertion and removal of the sheet and are constituted by a. pair of cooperating die and carriage elements and at least one piston-cylinder runit operated by pressure fluid interposed between said elements and lock-latches means interposed between the press frame and the elements to engage and disengage the die from the plate of the press.

The invention will now be disclosed by the following description making reference to the accompanying drawing which shows an advantageous embodiment of a device as applied to a punching press.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view intersecting the fixed or stationary and the movable plates or beds of a press provided with the device accordingto this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section taken along lines IIII of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary section taken along the line III-III of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a portion of the device as shown in FIGURE 2.

Concerning these figures, A designates the uprights of the press which hold the fixed or stationary plate or bed C and the vertically reciprocating movable plate or bed B.

The frame of the press comprises sleepers or bars connected to the uprights A and between which a plate 12 forming the and holds in the 14 for die D.

Bed plate 14 at its longitudinal edges has grooves 16 which house balls 18. The balls 18 are mounted in plates 20, by bars 22 which extend forward and backward of the structure of the press and constitute guides or tracks for bed plate 14.

. Bars 22 are connected to beams 24 held by the sleepers 10 by means of vertical guides 26 arranged lateral to plate B, Rams 28 are mounted in the body of sleepers 10 and floating pistons 30 thereof cooperate with the lower ends of beams 24 to form jacks for the bed plate 14. The rams 28 are connected by means of lines 32 to a suitable pressure source.

Lateral to plate 12, piston-cylinder units are arranged. One of the elements of these in the case illustrated, cylinder 34 is connected to the respective beam 24 by means of heads 36 and 38 provided with fittings 40 and 42 respectively which connect the chamber of said cylinder to a source of fluid under pressure by means of a suitable distributor. Heads 36 are bored to provide a cylinder extension 34' and in each of the cylinders 34 and 34 there slide pistons 44 and 46 respectively and the connecting rod 48 which is connected through its free end to a slide or horizontally reciprocating edge portion 50.

The piston-cylinder unit 34'46, arranged in tandem with unit 34-44, constitutes a damper during the final displacement of die D. A line 40 has a bypass in which a flow-reducing member 52 comprising a needle valve 52 (FIGURE 4) is inserted and it leads into chamber 54 of cylinder 34 to thereby form a motion dampening means when piston 46 displaces the fluid under pressure supplied into fitting 52 in that the exhaust of the fluid from chamber 54 is slowed down thereby.

Slide 50 holds, by means of a pivot 56, a hook 58,

A latch means including piston-cylinder unit 9270 is secured to the movable plate B. The piston of said unit is connected with a head 72 which holds one or more roll members 74, while the cylinder is connected by means of a line 76 with a pressure fluid source.

mally engages an underturned edge of the plate 14,

under the influence of a spring 94 biasing the piston 92 downwardly, to latch or clamp the plate in the working position.

The stationary plate C retains the complementary part of die D, formed by a frame which clamps the punching elements to its bed plate. Said plate C has along its longitudinal sides, supports or tracks 23 for roll members 19 cooperating with grooves 17 provided along the longitudinal sides of frame 80. These parts correspond to the parts 22, 18 and so on and therefore are designated by corresponding uneven numbers.

Along the longitudinal sides of frame 80 piston-cylinder units 35-45 and 35'-47 are placed which have a similar structure as that of the cylinder-piston units 34-44 and 34'46.

Connecting rods 49 of these piston-cylinder units are connected with slides or horizontally reciprocable edge portion 51 carrying hooks 59 which engage teeth 63 integral with frame 80 to form a transverse latch means for Patented May 2, 1967 A second tooth 64 is carried Referring now particularly to FIGURE 3, the head 72 nor- 3 the frame; the teeth 63 can engage second teeth 65 integral with slides 51.

Piston-cylinder units 35-45; 35'-47 are supplied with a fluid under pressure through a suitable distributor leading to fittings 41 and 43. The stationary plate C has latch means to lock it to frame 80 disengaging it from ball guides 19; said means comprise latches 90 carried by plate C the movable parts of which engage frame 80 so as to clamp the latter against plate C, disengaging the grooved edges 17 of said frame from the roll members 19. As can best be seen by reference to FIGURE 3, the latches 90, in a manner similar to the above described latch means operated by the piston-cylinder units 92-70, are actuated by the piston-cylinder units 99-98. The cylinder 98 is connected to a pressure fluid source through a line 106, the piston '99 being biased upwardly under the influence of a spring 97. The latch 90 engages a turned under edge portion of the frame '80 to normally latch or clamp the frame in the working position.

To remove the die-half 15 together with the bed plate 14 the press must be inoperative with the movable plate B in its lowest position. In such a case, first the pistoncylinder unit 70 is operated to disengage head 72 of said plate 14. Next cylinder 28, of the jacks 28-30, is operated to raise, to a controlled height, beams 24, the ball supports 22, and guides 16 of plate 14. Then the lefthand chambers (FIGURE 2) of the piston-cylinder units 34-44 are supplied through fittings 40 to displace slides 50 in the direction of arrow X.

This displacement provides the engagement of a a tooth 64 integral with slide 50 with tooth 62 carried by die 14 and the latter is accordingly disengaged from the structure of the press and displaced in the direction of arrow X. However, before piston 44 reaches the end-stroke point, roller '66 carried by hook 58, engages inclined plane 68 to disengage said hook from tooth 62. Therefore, die 14 which has reached a position easily accessible to the operator can be further manually moved away from the plate of the press by the operator himself and brought into a position that is accessible in which the desired operations of the check up and overhauling can be carried out.

To return die 14 to the starting position, on plate B of the press, the operator returns it manually to the plate. Thereafter, fluid under pressure is supplied through line 42 to displace piston 44 in a direction opposite to arrow X; hook 58 re-engages tooth 62 and draws with it die 14, returning the latter into the interior of the press. This motion is carried out first with high speed, until piston 46, integ'ral with piston 44, is re-engaged in cylinder 34' whereby the fiuid in said cylinder is discharged through a flowreducing member 52, performing the damped displacement of die 14 towards its final position.

Upon reaching this position, the pressure is released from rams 28 so that pistons 30 are lowered and engage die half 15 with plate B, simultaneously the piston-cylinder unit 70 is operated to engage head- 72 with die half 15 thereby locking the latter to plate B,

In order to remove frame from the stationary plate C, a similar method is used; i.e.-first, the latches are actuated to free said frame 80 from plate C. Frame 80 due to its own weight engages with rolling members 19 and the piston cylinder units 35-45; 35'-47 are supplied in the manner previously considered. The reverse operation returns the die below plate C and said die is clamped by latch 90.

Modifications and variations can be made to the device as described and illustrated to satisfy the different requirements of useage and work without departing from the scope of this invention.

Obviously, the invention extends also to the press, especially the punching press which incorporates the device according to this invention, which said device could naturally be applied to only one of the two plates of the press.

I claim:

1. A power press having a vertically reciprocating bed and a fixed bed; each of said beds having one edge portion horizontally reciprocable with respect to the other edges thereof, track means carried by each bed with the longitudinal axes thereof parallel to the direction of reciprocation of said one edge portions, a plate and die assembly for each bed supported on said track means and said reciprocable edge portions, latch means for selectively connecting each of said plates to its respective bed, transverse latch means for selectively connecting each of said plates to its reciprocating edge portion of its bed, and means for latching and unlatching said latch means and further latch means and for reciprocating said one edge portion of each of the beds.

2. A power press defined in claim 1 wherein the means for reciprocating one edge portion of each bed includes elements comprising a piston and cylinder unit, means connecting one element of said unit to the bed and means connecting the other element of the unit to the one edge portion.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein each of the piston and cylinder units includes motion dampening means for decelerating movement in one direction of travel.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein pressure fluid actuated piston and cylinder units actuate the latch means, said transverse latch means and reciprocate said one edge portion of each of the beds.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,913,946 11/1959 Ellrich 83630 3,142,093 7/ 1964 Tribbett -299 3,230,869 1/ 1966 Wilkins 100-214 FOREIGN PATENTS 567,875 12/ 1958 Canada. 678,935 7/1939 Germany.

BILLY J. WILl-IITE, Primary Examiner, 

1. A POWER PRESS HAVING A VERTICALLY RECIPROCATING BED AND A FIXED BED; EACH OF SAID BEDS HAVING ONE EDGE PORTION HORIZONTALLY RECIPROCABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER EDGES THEREOF, TRACK MEANS CARRIED BY EACH BED WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXES THEREOF PARALLEL TO THE DIRECTION OF RECIPROCATION OF SAID ONE EDGE PORTIONS, A PLATE AND DIE ASSEMBLY FOR EACH BED SUPPORTED ON SAID TRACK MEANS AND SAID RECIPROCABLE EDGE PORTIONS, LATCH MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING EACH OF SAID PLATES TO ITS RESPECTIVE BED, TRANSVERSE LATCH MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING EACH OF SAID PLATES TO ITS RECIPROCATING EDGE PORTION OF ITS BED, AND MEANS FOR LATCHING AND UNLATCHING SAID LATCH MEANS AND FURTHER LATCH MEANS AND FOR RECIPROCATING SAID ONE EDGE PORTION OF EACH OF THE BEDS. 